bail reform
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The 1st Rikers Island Detainee to Die From Coronavirus Complications Was Jailed for Parole Violation
The first jail inmate to test positive for COVID-19 at Rikers Island, Michael Tyson, died on Sunday. According to multiple people familiar with Tyson’s case, he contracted and died from the disease while awaiting a hearing on a parole violation. Tyson was just 53 years old, reports The New York Times, and had been detained…
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Andrew Cuomo Is Trash
In a crisis—and absent any real leadership from the president—people love an authoritative man with a PowerPoint. That explains, partially, the surge of popularity New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is experiencing. As the leader of the state that is currently the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S., he exhibits the sort of governance…
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San Francisco to Remove Cash Bail Requirements
In the last few years, the topic of cash bail has come under renewed scrutiny. The practice inordinately affects the poor and communities of color. Luckily, the city of San Francisco has taken a huge step towards reform. CBS News reports that recently elected District Attorney Chesa Boudin will no longer require cash bail to…
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Finally! New York to Eliminate Bail for Misdemeanors and Nonviolent Crimes Starting Jan. 1
Effective Jan. 1, a New York law eliminating cash bail for most nonviolent crimes will go into effect. While criminal justice reformers praise the move, some police chiefs, district attorneys and lawmakers oppose the change. The law is part of a group of changes designed to reform the criminal justice system, passed by the state…
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Rev. Jesse Jackson Posts Bail for Cook County Jail Inmates on Christmas
On Christmas Day, Rev. Jackson Jackson Sr. posted the bonds of a handful of inmates at Cook County Jail in Chicago so they could spend the holiday with loved ones. After Jackson paid the bonds, cameras captured him walking arm-in-arm with the released men, ABC News reports. “This is just a good feeling. It brings…
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ACLU Sues Philadelphia Courts Over Money Bail Practices
In 2015, Eugene Lee spent three months in jail for a botched armed robbery. While that might not seem like a long time, you should know that Lee was not convicted before being sent to jail. He was also not the gunman in the incident. In fact, the robbery involved a toy gun that someone…
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Money Bail Might Be the Most Racist, Immoral Part of America’s Criminal Injustice System
When listing all of the problems in America’s justice system, the racial disparities are too numerous to count, the facts, alone are astounding. The rate of marijuana use is about the same for blacks and whites (although more blacks say they have never used marijuana), but blacks are more than three times more likely to…
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Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association Says 1,300 People Have Been Held in Jail for 4 Years Without Trial
So much for the Sixth Amendment, which should guarantee a suspect the right to a speedy trial. According to the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, that is just not the case locally, with some 1,300 people being locked up in local jails for four years while awaiting their trials. About 70 people have been waiting for five…